We could say that W experienced the first three stages of initiation when he was arrested (Separation), tried, convicted and sentenced to prison (Descent and Ordeal).  The fourth stage (Return), began in prison and continues to this day.  It is worth noting that for most men released from prison, their Return stage is so severely flawed that it resembles more a revolving door than a passage.  For someone to successfully negotiate this treacherous transition is a testament to the man and to the resources that support his return.  Here are some reflections from Jeffrey Goldwasser, a key support person, and from W.

From Jeffrey Goldwasser and Steve Martin
“In March of 2010, I received an email through the Jericho Project about being a community contact for a man who was being released from prison in Massachusetts after 17 years incarceration.   I agreed to the request thinking it would be some time down the road. To my surprise, I received a call 2 days later from the prison psychologist telling me that the man would be released in two days and would travel by bus directly to North Carolina. The psychologist told me the man’s name was W and that he wanted me to know why he had been sentenced to prison. Upon hearing this information, I hesitated, but decided that I would meet him and see what happened.

A few days later, I received a call from W telling me he had arrived.  I encouraged him to find a motel, let me know where he was, and I would come by in the morning. The next day I met W at the motel and we began what has become a very special relationship.  At that first meeting, we talked for a while at the motel and went out to breakfast to get to know each other.  I immediately realized this man who had spent seventeen years in prison had a level of emotional intelligence that I believed would serve him well in his return to the free world.  I thought it was remarkable that W looked me in the eye, owned his feelings, shared his story, and started to trust me – a man he had only known a few hours.  As the days went by, I realized that I wanted a group of men to help support W.  I made this request to my local ManKind Project (MKP) community telling them what I had learned about W and asking for support.  Several men came forward and we formed “W’s Team”, a band of brothers dedicated to his successful return to the free world.  This band has helped with survival needs, including food, shelter and clothing, but also with belonging and friendship.  In addition, many others have supported W in making a successful transition to life outside of prison; the local VA hospital, his social workers, his psychologist, and his probation officer to name a few. And the Jericho Project was a vital prerequisite and crucial link to any of this happening.

Ten months after his release, W has a safe place to live, a good job, appropriate social services, and a strong support network.  He has become an active and valued member of his MKP and work communities.   All that  being said if, it weren’t for W himself, who he is and who he is becoming, his commitment to living a life of integrity, honesty and openness, his transition would likely have failed—as it has for so many people released from prison.  And I personally would have missed out on knowing this beautiful man who has blessed my life in countless ways.”

From W:
“When I first went to Jericho Circle, I didn’t know what to expect. I was reluctant to be open and share about myself. But when I saw that the other inmate men and the men that came in were open, I began to feel safe. Safety for me was a big issue. I felt accepted which was something I had been looking for for a long time. This helped me trust men again. Due to some events that happened in my childhood, I had lost trust in men. Jericho helped me to start to be the man that I wanted to be. That is a man of integrity, honesty and being open. They helped me to relearn the importance of commitment.

When I was about to be released from prison, I shared with my men’s circle, that I was scared because I had no where to go, no home and no money.  One of the outside men got me in touch with a Massachusetts JCP man who in turn put out a post or email to our local MKP community and informed them about a man who was being released from prison. A man responded, Jeffrey Goldwasser, and said he would be a contact for me. The day after I was released from prison I called this man and we met.

If it hadn’t been for that man who got in touch with my Massachusetts contact man and responded, and if it wasn’t for the contact men himself sending that email, I don’t know where I would be right now except possibly dead.

The brothers who came in to the prison where I was were so accepting, non-judging, warm, loving and caring. I am so grateful for their commitment to go inside prisons to see men like me who made a large mistake and who wanted to change into becoming a better man.

W.

Last year we took steps toward expanding the scope and effectiveness of what we do.  This year we have been consolidating and deepening our understanding of what men on the inside need and the skills they need to pass on their gifts within and beyond the institutional environment.

Highlights:

• · In March of this year JCP co-sponsored a workshop at Suffolk University Law School in Boston entitled “The Hard Road Home: Welcoming Ex-Offender Back to the Community.”  Panelists discussed the legal and social context of reentry as it relates to the transitional process from prison to community.
• · Our 6th Weekend Intensive Training (2-days) was held at Bay State Correctional Center, April 2-3.  Facilitators for this workshop came from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Florida, Wisconsin and California.
• · Our 7th Weekend Intensive Training (3-days) was held at FMC Devens, June 24-26.  This workshop included a sweat lodge hosted by Native Americans at the institution.
• · This January, JCP inaugurated a new program at Souza-Baranowski Correction Center– a maximum security institution operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction.  Targeting a Lifer’s Unit, this circle is offered an opportunity for JCP to address the needs of longer term inmates.
• In February of this year, for the first time, JCP offered an Inside/Outside Workshop for inmates and outside facilitators at MCI-Norfolk.  This weekend included a special program designed to deepen the experience and skills of inside men and train facilitators in cutting-edge techniques for personal transformation behind the walls.
• In September of this year, JCP will be offering our third annual intensive weekend at MCI-Norfolk.  This workshop will be the largest in our history, involving 40 men from both sides of the wall.  The program at this institution has expanded to two inside circles, featuring opportunities for inside men to develop skills and pass on the lessons they have learned.
• This year, our tenth in operation, JCP has expanded and diversified its Board of Directors (see Home page) to better serve its mission, communities and clientele.

by David R. Karp

Despite mounting evidence of the effectiveness of correctional programs (MacKenzie, 2006; Cullen & Gendreau, 2000), offenders are woefully underserved. Two- thirds of all prisoners are released without any vocational or educational training; 75% have alcohol or substance abuse problems, but only 25% receive treatment while incarcerated (Petersilia, 2003, p. 93). Successful reentry is rare. Sixty-seven percent of former inmates are rearrested within three years of release, and 52% are reincarcerated (Petersilia, 2003, p. 140).

Members of a large voluntary men’s organization called the ManKind Project have observed the dearth of prison programming, and some have responded by volunteering in prisons and offering an innovative program model. One program was developed in 1999 at Folsom Prison in California. In 2002, a second program followed in Massachusetts. A third, called the TRUTH Project, began in 2006 in Wisconsin.

For the Full Article see “Resources/Articles” on this Site

• · In March of this year JCP co-sponsored a workshop at Suffolk University in Boston entitled “Wearing the Scarlet Letter: The Challenges and Possibilities of CORI Reform”  Panelists discussed the legal and social context of reentry as it relates to the transitional process from prison to community.
• · Our 5^th Weekend Intensive Training (2-days) was held at Bay State Correctional Center, March 14-15.  Facilitators for this workshop came from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Florida, Wisconsin and California.
• · Our 6^th Weekend Intensive Training (3-days) was held at FMC Devens, June 25-27.  This workshop was facilitated by men from Massachusetts, Rhode Island,  New York and New Jersey.
• · Our 2^nd Weekend Intensive Training at MCI-Norfolk is scheduled for September  25-26.
• This year, as in the past, men from our facilitators teams traveled to Wisconsin to support our brothers in the T.R.U.T.H. project (To Restore Understanding Trust and Hope).  Our collaboration with T.R.U.T.H. gives members of our team greater insight into and appreciation of the power of our inside work.
• · A new volunteer-based project at the Dallas County Jail entitled the “New Tools Circle” has been inspired by JCP. This program applies the approaches and techniques developed in our prison circles to men serving time in Texas.

What would I be if I would be
the man that lives inside of me?
How could I see if I was blind?
When would I know when I’d arrived?
Where would I flee to escape from time
to break the chains that bond my mind?

No feet, no knees, no legs to walk
No tongue, no mouth, no voice to talk.
With arms so short and hands so small
How could I reach to climb the wall?

My name is spoke, I hear it clear
Though I have no drums inside my ears.
My heart still beats though it is stone.
My blood still flows though it is cold.

I breathe in deep, there is no air.
I exhale quick, release my fear.
It floats away up to the clouds.
I smell the rain, it showers down.

My skin feels pain, but there is none.
I close my eyes, I see the sun
and lavender skies I’ll leave behind,
The cool sea breeze, the ocean’s tide.

Divine intervention helps me survive.
I only know how, I don’t know why.
What could I be if I would see
The gifts of sights epiphany?

I open my eyes and see the signs
To weaken the chains and break their bind.
I choose to live, I live to shine.
I’ve freed my mind, I’ve now arrived.

Update: No proposals submitted to this program were funded in Massachusetts.

Cedar Junction Staff September 2008

Cedar Junction Staff Summer 2006

Bay State Staff July 2008

Bay State Staff June 2007

Bay State Staff July 2006